Biography
Imarhan, a South Algerian group, fuse the longstanding traditions of Tuareg music with contemporary elements drawn from rock, jazz, and blues. Their first release, the self-titled Imarhan, appeared in 2016 and positioned them as an influential presence within the Tuareg scene, a standing they reinforced with the arrival of their third album, Aboogi, in early 2022.
The band formed in Tamanrasset in 2006 and pursued an updated version of the Tuareg style that Tinariwen had already brought to international notice. Members Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane, known as Sadam, Tahar Khaldi, Hicham Bouhasse, Abdelkader Ourzig, and Haiballah Akhamouk absorbed the Western idioms of jazz, rock, and blues while retaining the regional music of their upbringing, thereby shaping a hybrid sound. Entry to a wider audience came after they signed with the German label City Slang, which issued their 2016 debut. Produced by Tinariwen’s Eyadou Ag Leche and tracked in France, the album departed from earlier Tuareg recordings. Their second album, Temet, followed in 2018 and was again recorded in France, this time with Patrick Votan handling production duties and Leche credited as executive producer; the set strengthened their standing as leading exponents of desert blues. Extensive European and U.K. touring ensued. By 2019 the group had constructed their own studio in Tamanrasset, naming it Aboogi after the temporary structures once used by nomadic ancestors; the facility became the first of its kind in the city and began hosting artists from across Algeria and beyond. For their third album—the first tracked locally—they expanded the Tuareg palette through collaborations with Sudanese singer Sulafa Elyas, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, local poet Mohamed Ag Itlale, and Tinariwen’s Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. Issued on City Slang in early 2022, the record carries the same title as the studio.
The band formed in Tamanrasset in 2006 and pursued an updated version of the Tuareg style that Tinariwen had already brought to international notice. Members Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane, known as Sadam, Tahar Khaldi, Hicham Bouhasse, Abdelkader Ourzig, and Haiballah Akhamouk absorbed the Western idioms of jazz, rock, and blues while retaining the regional music of their upbringing, thereby shaping a hybrid sound. Entry to a wider audience came after they signed with the German label City Slang, which issued their 2016 debut. Produced by Tinariwen’s Eyadou Ag Leche and tracked in France, the album departed from earlier Tuareg recordings. Their second album, Temet, followed in 2018 and was again recorded in France, this time with Patrick Votan handling production duties and Leche credited as executive producer; the set strengthened their standing as leading exponents of desert blues. Extensive European and U.K. touring ensued. By 2019 the group had constructed their own studio in Tamanrasset, naming it Aboogi after the temporary structures once used by nomadic ancestors; the facility became the first of its kind in the city and began hosting artists from across Algeria and beyond. For their third album—the first tracked locally—they expanded the Tuareg palette through collaborations with Sudanese singer Sulafa Elyas, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, local poet Mohamed Ag Itlale, and Tinariwen’s Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. Issued on City Slang in early 2022, the record carries the same title as the studio.
Albums
Singles
